Univ News: Rome Capture

Summary

Universal Newsreel First Pictures of Rome's Capture. German newsreel footage showing Allied prisoners being marched through the streets of Rome during the German occupation. The narrator notes that the ". . . Italians watch quietly. Note the absence of any demonstration." Shots of Kesselring and fighting around Rome. American tanks enter and liberate Rome to cheering crowds: "Now the attitude of the Italian people has changed." People cheer the soldiers and wave American and Italian flags. American General Mark Clark enters the city in a Jeep. American, Italian and British flags fly. "The hated swastika flies no more over Rome." A US Army sergeant does a Mussolini impression on the balcony of Mussolini's former palace. Bells ring in the Vatican. Pope Pius XII addresses a crowd of 200,000. American soldiers attend mass. Aerial shots of Rome, "the first Axis capital liberated by our troops." Italian Crown Prince Umberto appears at the palace in front of a crowd. Crowds flee as a grenade is thrown into the headquarters of the fascist police. A woman kisses an American soldier. American soldiers line up to receive "real beer, made in Naples." Shots of a destroyed town north of Rome, where American soldiers inspect abandoned German artillery. Also on this newsreel (beginning at 02:29:26): Title: Buy a Bond - Join the 'Fighting 5th' (narrated by Ed Herlihy). Parades in Texarkana, Texas and in New York in support of the 5th war loan campaign. Title: Spars Become 'Sparks' (narrated by Gertrude Warner). Female Coast Guard reservists (SPARS) who have completed a course in radio reception. Commander Dorothy Stratton presents the women with certificates. Title: Human Side of the War (narrated by Ed Herlihy). American soldiers in the South Pacific receive mail during mail call. World of Sports: rodeo competition between the US and Australia.